The most telling stat from an uninspiring win: 10 thoughts on Mizzou's win over Abilene Christian
Missouri football needed three quarters to put away Abilene Christian for good on Saturday in an uninspiring win.
Here are 10 thoughts from the victory.
More: Recap: Mizzou football takes down Abilene Christian 34-17 in non-conference matchup
1. The most telling stat on the afternoon: 2
That is, the amount of quarterbacks Missouri played in the win over ACU.
I fully expected to see all four quarterbacks play Saturday. I was expecting to see Tyler Macon get a chance to show the passing skills he'd been working on all summer.
I expected to see Sam Horn's debut at Faurot Field.
We didn't see any of that aside from Jack Abraham coming in late for a few handoffs when the game was already decided. That took away a chance for everyone to get a look at Macon and Horn.
More significantly, it meant the game was close enough that Missouri needed its first team in there to close out an FCS opponent at home.
There was a clear class difference between MU and ACU. The Tigers played a faster brand of football and had better play designs.
But when Brady Cook needs three and a half quarters to definitively show Missouri was going to beat Abilene Christian, that's not good enough.
For reference, MU thrashed Southeast Missouri State last season 59-28. That game was in hand at halftime. You could make an argument it was over at the halfway point of the second quarter.
Look around college football. East Carolina beat Campbell 49-20. Southern Miss beat Northwestern State 62-10. Oregon State beat Montana State 68-28. Those are all FBS wins over FCS programs.
Saturday should have been that for Missouri. But it wasn't. Having an offense that struggles to consistently connect against a Wildcats team from the Western Athletic Conference is worrisome with SEC play looming.
2. Good enough or not, the chance for redemption looms
Missouri won by multiple scores and left Faurot Field without any injuries to key players.
That's taken care of. It's time to tackle redemption.
After the Kansas State loss, Eli Drinkwitz heard about it each and every way. He mentioned something of the sort on Tuesday, saying the team needs to learn how to block out the "toxicity."
That toxicity evaporates with a win next Saturday at Auburn. Easier said than done, but there isn't an SEC game on Missouri's schedule that's become easier as the season has gone on.
Auburn was blown out by Penn State 41-12 on Saturday. The Nittany Lions were on a different level and absolutely decimated Auburn.
Considering where Bryan Harsin is, his seat might be the hottest in the SEC. He was almost fired this offseason for, well, I'm still not entirely sure.
More: Three takeaways from Missouri football's 34-17 home win over FCS Abilene Christian
That program is in disarray and is struggling talent-wise. Missouri has a chance here to earn an extremely important win against a program that's struggling.
Considering MU's status as the coaching grim reaper — Florida's Dan Mullen, Arkansas' Bret Bielema and Vanderbilt's Derek Mason, to name a few, were all fired after losses to Missouri — fits with a fun narrative. Missouri could send Auburn into a program change with a win.
It would also be a massive shift for Missouri, as the Tigers would be 3-1 heading to the midway point of the regular season.
3. The scuffling offensive line is going under the hood
ACU broke through the offensive line, lit up Cook and forced a fumble it recovered for a touchdown.
That brought the score to 24-10. Against Abilene Christian, that can't happen. Drinkwitz understood this postgame.
"We've got to go back and look and see what the best five guys are, to be honest," Drinkwitz said of the offensive line. "Poor execution doesn't win in this league."
Xavier Delgado missed the game after suffering an injury last week against Kansas State. He was listed as questionable, but like Case Cook's status against SEMO last season, there's no point in risking Delgado's health in a game when MU has players capable of filling in.
Zeke Powell, Luke Griffin, Connor Tollison, Connor Wood and Javon Foster started on Saturday. Griffin got the start in place of Delgado.
More: Why the O-line deserved an F: Our postgame grades from Mizzou's win over Abilene Christian
The left side of the line allowed that strip-sack touchdown, meaning it was a miscommunication or a missed assignment on Griffin or Foster's part. It's hard knowing without being sure of the call at the line of scrimmage.
It still can't happen. It's why the line is getting a full workshop.
The opportunity is open for players like EJ Ndoma-Ogar, a transfer from Oklahoma, Armand Membou and Bobby Lawrence to get their chance to crack that starting five.
This also depends on whether Hyrin White can make his way back to the field, which would be an immense boon for the line.
ACU cut the MU lead to 14 with its strip-sack touchdown. In the SEC, that strip-sack touchdown can be the difference between being in a game and losing.
4. Figure out the O-line, and the running backs could follow
The Tigers' run game hasn't inspired much confidence. Without a consistent offensive line, MU shouldn't be expected to keep a consistent run game going.
In the first half, MU recorded 40 rushing yards. ACU had 73.
The Tigers found a way to produce on the ground in the second half, but Cook is still MU's leading rusher a year after Tyler Badie set a handful of rushing records.
Sometimes, it does come down to just attacking the defense. Run the ball consistently and eventually the defense cracks. MU has the backs to break big runs.
Elijah Young and Nathaniel Peat both showed the ability to run laterally and off-tackle. Cody Schrader is more of a power runner between the tackles.
Drinkwitz said he has no issue going with the hot hand if Missouri has one, and I agree. If a back is having a good day, let him roll.
But it's hard to let any running back roll when the offensive line is struggling.
5. With one play, the punt returner job was solved
Luther Burden fielded a punt that bounced off the turf and took it 78 yards for a touchdown. In doing so, he sealed the deal.
Burden should be the guy returning punts. End of story.
Touchdown Luther was back Saturday and made his statement on a play where not even his own teammates could keep up with him. He really is that good.
Kris Abrams-Draine is a fine return man. He might be better-suited for kickoffs, however. Against Kansas State, Abrams-Draine's decision to not field multiple punts set the offense back.
Burden might take more risks, as he did in the first quarter that led to a hit going out of bounds, which caused enough of a limp to where he went back into the locker room for evaluation.
But it's about finding ways to get the best offensive player the ball in his hands in any possible way.
6. Mizzou's wide receiver room is taking shape
I was curious how Drinkwitz would sort this position group out. There are so many mouths to feed, and that spells transfer portal in 2022.
But, right now, the Tigers have found their go-to guys.
Dominic Lovett has emerged as perhaps the best receiver in the room. He had the best game of his career Saturday, catching seven passes for 132 yards for two touchdowns.
Lovett has been consistent. He's shown he's a short, intermediate and deep threat. He broke out of his freshman shell and is just owning the slot position. Lovett has a team-high 274 receiving yards through three games.
"He continues to get better and better," Drinkwitz said of Lovett.
More: How Dominic Lovett came out of his shell to become a Mizzou star receiver
Missouri's offense is in need of players to break out of their shells. This is at every position. Lovett is an example of how to do that.
When Lovett walked into the postgame press conference, he was loose. He was smiling. He was having fun.
"I always had it in me, but it was kind of in a shell," Lovett said. "Everybody helped me come out of my shell."
Obviously, it was a great day for Lovett, but the player I can compare that to was Badie last season. Whenever Badie spoke, it was clear that he was just having fun on his way to smashing some MU rushing records.
Right now, Lovett and Burden are the two go-to receivers. Mookie Cooper had a good catch over the middle and is finding his place on the outside as Burden handles the other outside receiver position and Lovett remains in the slot.
Not to mention, Barrett Banister and Tauskie Dove can come in anytime and be depended on as established SEC veterans.
That's a good problem to have, but it's even better as it gets sorted out.
7. The tight end position needs to give more
For the second week in a row, Missouri's tight ends were a non-factor.
Tyler Stephens didn't record a target. Kibet Chepyator was the only tight end of the three on MU's depth chart to record a target.
You need more out of this group in every sense. The tight ends factor into both the running game and the passing game. Even a tight end that just blocks consistently is something MU could use.
It's also a reason why it would've been a boon to see MU beat ACU by five or six scores. It would've given players like Max Whisner, Gavin McKay or Shawn Hendershot some playing time.
8. The SEC remained a wild collection of teams Saturday
At the beginning of the season, I was pretty high on Missouri's chances to earn a few wins on the road and pull off a big win or two at home.
That confidence was shaken a bit, but I'm still looking at the SEC with a week-to-week approach because, well, I still don't understand.
Florida eked out a win over South Florida. Texas A&M rebounded from a home loss to Appalachian State to beat Miami in a top-20 matchup. Georgia made me wonder how South Carolina scored a touchdown against that defense.
Alabama's Will Anderson is still my pick for the Heisman and all the other awards.
But these results, specifically Florida's 31-28 win over USF, just make me wonder. Which Gators will MU see in the Swamp when the Tigers visit Oct. 9?
The Utah Gators, which stunned the Utes at home; the USF Gators, which were on upset alert for most of the game; or the Kentucky Gators, which were beaten at the Swamp by a talented Wildcats team.
Or is there another Florida team that emerges? I have no idea. You have to admit, it's compelling.
Still, at the end of the day, Missouri will play five of its remaining nine games against AP Top 25 teams. It's a very challenging slate for the Tigers.
9. The duality of college football is truly maddening
Missouri walked into Kansas State last weekend and got spanked, thoroughly, by KSU in a miserable, rain-soaked game.
That same KSU team lost to Tulane 17-10 in the same Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday in not-miserable conditions.
Auburn is Missouri's next opponent. Auburn was clobbered by Penn State 41-12 at home. MU visits Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium in less than a week.
Bobby Petrino's Missouri State Bears led No. 10 Arkansas for a good amount of the game Saturday before the Hogs seized control.
After a decade of futility, Kansas football is 3-0. Find a way to explain that lightly to your kids.
It really makes you wonder how we're all supposed to just accept the results this sport gives us from time to time.
10. The ACU game came pretty full circle for me
Back in January 2021, I was a sports reporter working for The Spectrum & Daily News in St. George, Utah. I covered high school sports, Utah Tech University and Southern Utah University. Both are FCS programs in southern Utah.
The entire winter, I was following SUU as it was jumping from the Big Sky Conference to the WAC. It was a big deal since SUU was becoming a mainstay in the Big Sky.
So I traveled to Houston as SUU, Lamar, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin and, yes, Abilene Christian were meeting.
Presidents and athletic directors lauded the rebirth of WAC football, which stood on the shoulders of BYU in the 1980s and Utah in the 2000s. I was there when it was reborn as an FCS conference, but I haven't seen WAC football officially.
That is until Saturday.
Obviously, covering the WAC and the SEC are two completely different things. The WAC hasn't been completely stable since its football resurrection, as Lamar journeyed back to the Southland Conference and Sam Houston State made the jump to FBS.
It was still fun to bring that journey, which began on a Friday in October 2020 and included a flight to Houston in 2021, to a close.
Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 10 thoughts on Mizzou's win over Abilene Christian
